Tangatanga pays bloggers to smear President - CS Munya

Agriculture CS Peter Munya has hit out at Tangatanga politicians, accusing them of running an online smear campaign against  President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Munya said in Nyeri on Friday the pro-DP William Ruto troops hire bloggers using Kikuyu pseudonyms but most are not Kikuyus.

“Some of them are not Kikuyus. They have hired offices for them and organise them into groups to smear the President as a nonperformer," the CS said.

By contrast, their paymasters are described in glowing terms as leaders who deliver development to the people, he said.

The CS is on a three-day tour of Nyeri, from Friday to Monday, for pubic participation in the the draft Coffee Bill.

Munya rejected as baseless claims that one politician has taken over Mt Kenya region from the President, whom he called the region's kingpin.

Mt Kenya is firmly behind the President, he said

The CS called on Tangatanga politicians to stop misleading people and give the government time to serve the people and better their lives.

The government is keen on reforming the Agriculture sector to improve farmers benefit from their toil, he said

“Let’s stop the politics of who will be what in 2022 because the aspirants will do nothing new. The coffee sector has been performing poorly over the years but we have had governments before,” Munya said.

He praised President Kenyatta for initiating the tea reforms and recently signing the Tea Bill.

In the dairy sector, the government has fixed the lowest lowest payment for farmers, not less than Sh34, Munya said.

He said the administration would continue to reform the coffee pyrethrum and other cash crop sectors.

He cited a number of development projects, including revival of the Nairobi-Nanyuki railway, ongoing construction of Ruring’u Stadium and roads such as Mau Mau, expansion of the Kenol-Marua road to a dual carriageway and construction of the Chaka market.

“I want someone to tell me what the President has not done because people have been taking to social media to criticise him,” the CS said.

On BBI, Munya said it  proposes to give more funds to counties - 35 per cent up from 15 per cent - to ensure they can fund and implement their projects.

He faulted Murang’a Senator Irungu Kang’ata for his recent open letter to the President, saying Mt Kenya was not behind BBI, which could fail spectacularly.

“Where did Kang’ata do these polls? Was he in Nyeri?  Did Kang’ata come to Nyeri to ask you? In a nutshell, let us stop all this propaganda and move forward. There will be civic education about BBI that has many benefits including bringing peace to the country,” Munya said.

(Edited by V. Graham)